Is stormy weather a good omen for our trivia team? In 2013, we won some money in a tournament while a windy rainstorm was happening outside (Brad even wore a dorky rain hat, we have photo evidence of this). We’ve speculated that storms mean Cthulhu is nearby, and helping us out in his own way. While weather has been very pleasant in Michigan the past few days, it hasn’t been so pleasant in Florida and the Caribbean as Hurricane Irma prepares to do what no other hurricane before her has done. I have a cousin living near Orlando who works as a firefighter, and he’s said that he has no plans to evacuate, and will be working through Sunday and Monday (my brother commented that he’s a “bad-ass”). Another cousin of mine lives in the northern part of Florida, and has also said he has not evacuated. Whether by coincidence, luck, or by virtue of Irma – our past two trivia outings have been pretty good – getting both finals right both nights – winning $50 in prizes total. All of this is coincidental, of course! But you have to admit it is odd that we wagered 20 points on a TV final and got it right! To think in the most recent league championship we wagered low on a TV final that we got correct, edging us out of $1,000 in prize money (oh the humanity…). Only a first prize was given out in game two, so we missed out on prize money in that game and instead got a couple of homemade buttons from Sporcle Live with Liz, which I will use to attach our stuffed Cthulhu’s knit hat to his head (trust me, he enjoys the pain, as I like to say, “a little pain never hurt anyone”). We wound up finishing in first for the night, and still remain in first in the overall bar standings. That’s really only because we’ve been the only league team to show up for all of the games so far. We may be tempted to skip the Oscar’s game Saturday, Sept. 23 for the Oktoberfest party at Original Gravity Brewing Co. in MIlan and spend our recent trivia prize winnings that night! Hmm, free beer, lederhosen, live music…or answering trivia questions? Tough call! Speaking of trivia questions…
Game One
1. Animated Characters – Bouvier is the maiden name of what animated sitcom housewife? 10
2. Packaging – What skin cleaning product has been sold in small cobalt blue jars since its inception in 1914? “Beautiful skin begins…with (blank)?” I remember commercial jingles FAR too well… 9
3. Stadiums – What now defunct sports retailer owns naming rights to the stadium in which the Denver Broncos play? Sadly, I thought of the correct answer to this one just seconds before Liz read it aloud (facepalm), miss for 1.
4. Zodiac Signs – Which Western zodiac sign immediately follows Gemini? 8
5. Islands – Manitoulin Island is located in which of the Great Lakes? Reasoned guess here for 3.
6. Mel Brooks – Name two of the three films directed by Mel Brooks in which Gene Wilder appeared. Name all three for an extra “nerd” bonus point. I had all three correct movies written down, but we talked ourselves out of the bonus point, but got this for 7.
7. The Supreme Court – Who replaced William Rehnquist as head of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005? Mike knew this one immediately for 5.
8. Scrabble – In a standard Scrabble game, the highest point tiles are Q and Z, name one of the two next highest letter tiles. 6
9. Computer Programming – COBOL is a computer programming language introduced in 1959. What does the letter “B” in COBOL stand for? Miss for 4.
10. Debut Albums – The Fame, released in 2008, was the first studio album by what singer? Funny, before the question was read, I “predicted” the question would be about the singer who happened to be correct, what I didn’t predict was that we’d get this right, so we wagered too low…got this for 2 (should’ve flip flopped wagers for 9 and 10…amateur hour!).
Mystery – This Day in History
On this day in…
1. 1969, what nation put French and English as official languages with equal status?
2. 2011 – What film about a virus was released starring Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law?
3. 1971 – Henry Thomas, star known for playing Elliott in what 1982 film was born?
4. 1999 – What home console system released by Sega?
Missed #2 and #4.
Scores – Seven teams, scores 19 to 60, with More Beer Less Pants in first. We were in third with 57 playing under the name Bastard Squad. That’s the name of a TV series that characters watched on the British series “The Young Ones,” so it’s not a real thing. But it does sound like something I’d watch!
Final Category – TV History
In American television history, three series have ended their runs with their final seasons ranked at the top of the Nielsen ratings. This occurred in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s. Name two of those three series.
Wagered 20 and got the one from the 1990s…
Final scores: ‘Pods, 77; Team Shit, 79.
Game Two
1. 2013 in Film – What 2013 film starring Joaquin Phoenix centers on a man who falls in love with the voice of his computer operating system? For an extra “nerd” bonus point, what actress supplied the voice of the operating system? Got both for 10 plus the bonus.
2. Publications – In what decade was the first issue of “TV Guide” published? Miss by two decades for 2.
3. Last Season of Football – What two teams played against each other in the January, 2017 NCAA college football championship? Knew one of the teams, not both, miss for 1.
4. National Parks – Big Bend National Park and Guadelupe Mountains National Park are both located in what U.S. state? 9
5. Commercials – What insurance company has used Charlie Daniels, Too Tall Jones, and Randy Johnson, among others, in its advertisements? No clue, miss for 3.
6. First Names – Give the first names of the two film critics talking about “Pulp Fiction” in the audio clue, got this for 7.
7. Currency – What digital currency was introduced in 2009? There was more to this question, but I didn’t write it all down, it was the FB clue question, got this for 7.
8. Duos – Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield made up what musical duo who had a string of hits in the 1960s? My dad was a huge fan of this duo, my mom not so much….”it makes me just feel like crying…baby…(ahem), got this for 6. Seriously, though, are you not BORN to be a musician with a last name like “Medley?” God, how weird is this? Bill Medley’s mother’s name was Irma… Photo tie in, scene from movie in which a song by this duo was sung to Kelly McGillis…
9. Anatomy – What is the name of the primary pigment in human skin? 5
10. Airlines – In April, 2015, what budget airline was ranked lowest in customer satisfaction? Second good guess for the night, again on question 10 for 4…
Mystery – https://www.sporcle.com/blog/visual/color99/, missed #1, #2, and #4. The only good thing about this round was that since they already asked a sports question in the regular round and did an ALL SPORTS MYSTERY ROUND that there will probably not be a sports final question! 🙂 Ouch, that smarts!
Scores: Five teams – Unicorns, 34; Two Hearts, 37; ‘Pods, 51, MBLP, 54; and Team Shit, 56.
Final Category – European History
What two regnal names were used by the British monarchs who reigned between Victoria and Elizabeth II?
Got this, but so did Team Shit, so no prize money for us…Until next time, which “might” be Monday, definitely Wednesday for sure at our “regular” spot. As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, that guy in “Top Gun” who said “Your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.” Now excuse me while I queue up Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” (hey, sometimes I am a sucker for a good ballad, so sue me). 🐙